Wichita eagle., 1887-07-05
: ava and cutetIy insinuated himseIf among

the bidGHrs.
Knocked down, and ere long 1t came to
the turn of eighty-six.
"A landscape with cattle and figures,
attributed to Cuyp," proclaimed the auc-
t;oueer from his desk. Shall we say five
pounds TO begin with"
nod from his clerk sitting at the
table.
.sGuineas.' said Shadrach.
No one else making sign, the contest
proceeded actively between the two oppo-
uents: the one steadily progressing with
mounds. and the other Immediately cap
ping him with g1ineas, murmur OF as
Punishment circulated among the bystand-
ers: and the leviathan picture dealer Of
Cottonopolis, after contemptuous glance
az the object of their rivalry, honored the
competitors with a polonged stare, evi-
IDENTIFY regarding them as couple of luna
tics.
..Twiee IS much as it is worth" grum-
bled Mr.. Ferguson, ''but 1 suppose had
better go on. !"
At length the struggle came to climax;
the clerks final bid of e10O was followed
by the inevitable nod of his adversary;
whereupon the former collapsed with a
negative shake Of the head, and after the
usual formula Of ''No advance on hun
dred guineass'' from the auctioneer, down
went the hammer, and Shadrach, rejoin-
ing his employer, congratulated him on
his acquisition
s.See that the picture is brought to-
morrow morning TO this address, said
Mr.. Ferguson, giving him the card, land
the check will be ready"
ssWhat a surprise for Septimus,'' said
the delighted Mrs. Palecourt to her brother,
as they sat dawdIing over their dessert.
How pleased he will bef'
Not so sure OF that" gruHy replied
Tom. "Rather more than he bargained
for, fancy. However" he went on, as
a cab stopped at the door, ''here he is to
answer for himself, and if you take my
advice you won't say a word about it until
he has had something to eat ;"
When the traveller had recruited his
energies with the aid of a rechauffe
dinner, his wife, unable any longer to re-
strain her impatience, burst out with the
news.
what do you think has happened,
dear, since you were away9 The picture
is yours"
'Is it2" replied Mr.. Palecourt, with less
enthusiasm than she expected, and Won
dering in his own mind how she knew it.
whats the ligure:"
ga hundred guineas."
''Guineasr' echoed Septimus, not over
pleased The fellow has gone beyond my
commission, - he thought.
YES" continued Sophy, in great ex-
element, "Tom went down to the rooms
~, 70 I,1v for Won -
''Tomn exclaimed her husband, thor
oughly puzzled. What had he to do
with it? l left commission myself for q
hundred pounds"
'sYou did?n said Mr. Ferguson. ''Then,
mess of it, for we have been bidding against
each other ell the time"
''It wasn't Toms fault" interposed
Mrs. Palecourt, ''he did it to oblige me. 1
was so anxious you shouldn't miss it. If
had only known you intended bidding
yourself!'
''Never thought Of it until was half
way to the station" growled Septimus,
still harping on the unnecessary outlay.
However, when morning came, and with
it the picture. its owner, who, in the mean
time, had reflected that after all he had
got it at ridicuously low price, felt equal
to discharging his liability, including
Shadrach's commission. with a tolerabIy
good grace; and before many days had
elapsed the newly framed masterpiece oc-
cupied the place of honor in the gallery of
Thurloe square. So elated, indeed, was
Septimus with the possession of such a
treasure that he literally talked of nothing
else; and it was confidently whispered, by
the chosen few invited to inspect the
marvel, that poor Palecourt had decidedly
Cuyp Oh the brain.
Some weeks later, while strolIing in
Piccadilly, he came across a club ac-
quaintance, Nassingham by name; one of
those pillars Of the turf who. when race
meetings are slack, occasionally turn up
in London.
''Hullor' shouted that worthy; haven t
seen you for an age. Still at the old
place, eh? l must look you up one of
these days"
DO" said Septimus, profting by the
occasion to introduce his favorite hobby.
''Come and lunch, and I'll show you a
gem of a picture / have just added to my
collection"
''As right. I'm no great Judge Of that
ScAS VI tiiAiaSsf tlcuoAA L ou24b " bN. IL
tastes followed suit Ny father had q
fancy that way, and when he died, as
paintings were not exactly in my line, l
sent the whole lot to the rooms last month
and realized tidy sum. The best Of it
was, regularly foored old Moss"
Moss" said Mr.. Palecourt, inquir-
ingly.
why, I thought everybody knew
Moss, the bill discounter; lives in a little
street off HolbOrn. The fact is, year or
two ago had been hard hit on the Cesare-
witch, and was couple of hundred short
when settling day came So / went to
Moss and managed to get half in cash and
the remainder in case Of the most vii
lainous champagne you ever tasted and a
daub of picture he called a cattle piece,
not worth a flyer, but which he swore
those fellows who swear anything, you
know was painted by some famous Dutch
man.
Not Cuyp," faltered Septimus, begin
ming to feel uncomfortable.
That's the name,n said Massingham.
''Three cows and two chaps smoking their
pipes and leaning against tree. Well, I
made up the money somehow, and kept
the thing until the other day when sent
1t in with the rest; and what do you think,
Two idiots ran it up over hundred, and
/ wish the one who got it JOY of his bar
gain When told Moss he was furious.
Bye bye, old man; I'll see you before I
leave town, and have a look ut your
gem
IN take very good care you DON'T"
said Mr.. PalecOurt to himself, as he
walked moodiIy hornevard.
Next day the apocryphaI ''Cuyp" was
degraded frnrn il hfrl1 eStn-n and rrr1cere-